


Casserole and a Kiss

by captaincastle



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, First Kiss, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-16 02:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13626774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captaincastle/pseuds/captaincastle
Summary: Karen liked knowing that Frank wanted to make her smile. And if his heart pounding in her ear was any indication, Karen made Frank happy too.All it took was a casserole and a kiss to make them realize.





	Casserole and a Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> posting my old writing - this was written pre punisher

Karen loves to write. She’s good at her job and she enjoys it. And even though she loves her job, sometimes she finds herself looking at the clock, waiting for the workday to be over. She’s eager to get home.

Eager to get home to Frank.

He’s not always at her place when she gets home. Her heart flutters a little as she turns the lock hoping to see him on her couch as she walks in. She’s only a little disappointed when he isn’t there, and she tries not to worry too much. She knows that he’s gone most of the time at night anyways.

So in the evenings when he’s not there, she does her regular routine. Makes herself dinner, leaves some leftovers in the fridge for Frank, she tidies up a bit, showers, and then settles in bed to write some more on whatever article she’s working on.

Karen had just settled into bed to start to write when she heard the unmistakable sound of Frank coming in the front door. She grinned to herself, but didn’t get up. She worried sometimes she’d scare him off with her eagerness, so she stayed in bed writing, and let him come to her - because he always did - when he was ready.

Karen heard the fridge open and shut, followed by a dish being set on the counter. Carefully she set her laptop down and tiptoed over to her bedroom door. She peered around the corner to see Frank leaning against the counter, holding a 9x13 casserole pan in one hand and a fork in the other. He’d didn’t see her, and Karen silently tiptoed back to bed. She just wanted to know if he liked it or not - and seeing him devour the casserole give her the answer she needed.

She continued to write, pleased with herself, and after a few moments she heard Frank’s boots thump closer and closer to her room. He didn’t say a word as he walked in. He headed straight for the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Karen didn’t expect him to say anything to her. She didn’t demand anything from him really. She just enjoyed his company. He made her smile and made her feel safe. Karen didn’t know what to call their relationship. They basically lived together, but they weren’t really dating. He slept in her bed a lot and held her close. Frank had even kissed her forehead once. And if she was honest with herself, she was attracted to him. To Frank. The kind, soft, sweet, gentlemanly Frank that she knew. She tried not to think about what he did when he was out - the Punisher. She just focused on him when he was with her.

Sometimes though the Punisher and Frank clashed a little. Frank would argue they are the same, but Karen thinks otherwise. So a lot of times after a rough night, Frank doesn’t talk much until after he’d been patched up and showered. He’d snapped at Karen once after a rough night, and he had no intentions on doing that again, so he often didn’t speak to her at all until he was relaxed and his adrenaline had gone down.

Frank showered quickly, and Karen was trying to write, but was distracted at the thought of him in the shower - she wondered how many cuts he had to clean tonight. Her thoughts were interrupted when her bathroom door was opened, light pouring into the room. Frank emerged, covered only by a towel around his waist. Karen tried not to stare. She tried so hard. But his chest and arms were there in plain sight! Wet and warm and tan and covered in scars.

“You’re staring again.” Frank spoke finally, he’d walked over to the dresser to get some sweats and a tshirt to sleep in. Karen had insisted he get his own drawer.

“Again?” Karen asked. She was trying to fight the blush she felt creeping up her neck.

Frank had his back to her, but he turned and rose an eyebrow.

“You were watchin’ me eat in the kitchen earlier.” a hint of a smile tugged at his lips.

“I wanted to know if you liked it.”

“I did.” he said, and walked back to the bathroom to get dressed.

Frank came back out and slid under the covers next to Karen. He sighed heavily, his face buried in his pillow. Karen absentmindedly started to rub his back with her hand. He grunted once, and she recoiled.

“Don’t stop.” he mumbled sleepily. “Feels nice.”

Her heart fluttered again, and she started to rub his back again. She wondered how long it would be before he kissed her. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but he kept coming over to stay with her. She knew part of it was he knew she felt safe with him around. She also suspected that he liked having somewhere quiet and safe he could go, where there was food, clean clothes and nice company. Karen just wanted to know when she could be even better company. But that could wait, she didn’t want to push him, but wow she really wanted to kiss him.

“Shouldn’t you be typin’ or something instead of staring off into the dark?” Frank’s voice broke the silence.

“I can’t type with one hand.” she replied.

“That’s not it and you know it. If you had something to type you would’ve. What’s on your mind?”

She hadn’t looked at him until that moment, he was still lying on his stomach, but he was looking up at her.

She blushed when she caught his eye. Why was she so nervous all of the sudden?? She’d never felt so shy around him before. Sure his presence was a little overwhelming to some. He stance is demanding and when he looks at her she feels like he can see straight through her. That excited her, never made her nervous, but she couldn’t get the butterflies in her tummy to go away.

He grinned again.

“Whatever it is you think you’re hiding from me, it ain’t workin’ ma’am. It’s all over your face.”

She took a deep breath and closed her laptop, and carefully set it on her bedside table. She laid down next to Frank and faced him. She couldn’t stop grinning.

“What’s got you grinnin’?”

“You.” she said simply.

“Nah. There’s a reason…It may be related to me…but there’s a reason.” he was teasing her now.

“Why do you wanna know?”

He looked at her, for a moment. Karen could see the wheels turning in his head as he stared at her with his big eyes.

“…….wanna know….what I did so I can see you grin like that again.”

“I was just wondering what it’d be like if you kissed me.” she said really fast, thinking it was now or never. She might as well tell him.

Frank rose his eyebrow again.

“That all? Damn. If I’d known it was that simple I would’ve asked a long time ago.”

Her eyes widened, and Frank let out a small chuckle.

“I’m not gonna kiss you just yet. Needs to be special… Don’t tell anyone though, don’t want to ruin my reputation.” he winked. “don’t want people think I’ve gone soft.”

“I know you are.” Karen smiled.

“Ssssh that’ll be our secret.”

Frank closed his eyes, and Karen was about to when she saw him open his eyes quickly again. He lifted himself up, and put an arm on either side of her. He brought his hands up to her face, and cradled her face with his hands. He’d angled her body so she was looking up at him. Karen felt the blush creeping up her neck again, and she found she didn’t care. Frank stroked her flushed cheeks with his calloused thumbs.

Frank held her gaze for a moment, and leaned down to touch his lips to hers softly.

“Thought you were going to wait.” Karen grinned up at him.

“Thought you wanted me to kiss you.” he grinned back. What Frank didn’t tell her was that he regrets those moments he could have had with his wife and kids, he had told them ‘tomorrow’ and when tomorrow came they were gone. He didn’t want to wait til tomorrow.

Frank laid on his pillow again, and Karen snuggled into his chest. She smiled as she could hear his heart thundering under her ear. She had a fleeting thought as she fell asleep, now that he knew how to make her grin, Karen realized she probably was going to get a lot more kisses. And kisses aside, Karen just liked knowing that Frank wanted to make her smile. And if his heart pounding in her ear was any indication, Karen made Frank happy too.


End file.
